A baby coming down with measles is receiving treatment at the Vietnam National Children’s Hospital in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi
recorded 1,193 cases of measles since the beginning of this year, however,
there has been no death from this disease, according to the city’s health
authorities.
Last week, the capital city
recorded 88 cases of the disease, a decrease of one case compared to
the week from April 29 to May 5, health officials reported at a meeting on May 14.
The number of measles cases over
the past week has decreased slightly in comparison with previous
weeks; however, the epidemic will likely continue to increase with about
70-80 cases per week, in line with the upward trend of measles cases across the
country, according to the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control.
Nguyen Nhat Cam, director of the
centre, said that authorities had been warning of a potential measles outbreak
in the city since last year.
In 2014, a broke
out in Hanoi leading to a record 1,700 cases that claimed the lives of 14
people.
“ is highly contagious,
and could infect 100 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed to a
carrier of the disease,” Cam said.
The issue is not only affecting
the capital. In February this year, it was reported that measles had hit
43 provinces across the country.
By the end of 2018 and in early
2019, the city has vaccinated more than half a million children aged 1-5. The
rate of vaccinated children suffering from the disease is very low
compared to other groups, showing the effectiveness of the vaccine,
according to Cam.
According to the latest
statistics from the , the city has not recorded
any large, concentrated outbreaks but rather small, scattered occurrences
throughout all urban and rural districts of Hanoi.
In order to prevent the epidemic
from spreading, the health department said people should be more active in
getting vaccinations.
Every year, there are
still 5,000-8,000 children, equivalent to 3-5 percent, who are not
vaccinated against measles.
Measles is not the only disease for
city residents to be worries about during summertime, as ten cases of dengue
fever were recorded in the capital city last week.
Early implementation of measures
to prevent dengue fever has reduced the number cases in Hanoi, according
to Hoang Duc Hanh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Health Department.
Since the beginning of 2019, the
city has recorded 224 dengue fever cases. No deaths have been recorded.
The districts with a high number
of cases include Cau Giay, Ha Dong, Dong Da, Hoang Mai, Hai Ba Trung and Nam Tu
Liem.
Hanoi also recorded nine cases of
hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
The Health Department would
continue to direct units to strengthen the prevention of infectious
diseases, especially measles and dengue fever, as summer
arrives, Hanh said.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
